Humanity
Prologue "Hey, Tech, check out my new implant!" called Cybinius. "Cool, what'd you get this time?" inquired Technobrine. Cybinius, his best friend, was always getting implants. Most of the doctors said too many cybernetic implants could really harm a person, especially children, but Cybinius' mom didn't care, and let him get as many implants as he wanted. Then again, a lot of people said that the intelligence-heightening chip she got turned into an intelligence-dampener long ago... Cybinius' implants made him really popular, because of all the cool things he could do. One of them dispenses cupcakes, (that was a big hit at the schoolyard) one of them lets him freeze inanimate, non-vital objects for 15 to 60 seconds, and his latest one shot out bubbles that, when popped, turned into chocolate milk. Technobrine and Cybinius always thought they would be friends forever, but it turns out that the doctors were right... it is bad for man to stray too far from his original design. Part 1: A Trap is Set Chapter 1 "Good morning, your Highness," greeted the soft-spoken Annabel, kneeling before her ruler. "Is there anything you would desire for breakfast?" "Rise, my ever-humble subject," answered Technobrine. "You know that I require nothing more than buttered toast and orange juice for my morning sustenance." "I shall fetch it at once, my lord." Annabel assured, leaving. Annabel was one of Prince Technobrine's favorite subjects, and often the subject of his thoughts. Unlike most Aperturians, who had pitch black hair to contrast their almost pigment-less skin, Annabel's hair was flaxen gold,and complimented her pale skin quite well. She was extremely kind to all else, as Technobrine observed, and always had a kind word to give to others. Most of all, she was incredibly humble, accepting compliments, but always meeting them with another. Of course, being of no royal blood, she and Technobrine could never be even aquaintances, and Technobrine knew this perfectly well. A small part of him whispered that that was a shame, but the rest of him dismissed it as a silly, fruitless thought. As Annabel turned the corner and disappeared from the throne room, she thought about Prince Technobrine. Despite being undisputed ruler and having almost absolute power, he hardly ever asked for anything fit for a king. For instance, his meals were no more than any regular citizen of Aperture Vale might eat. For breakfast, a simple glass of orange juice and slice of buttered toast. At lunch, he ate a mere ham sandwich. And dinner? Nothing more than cod with mashed potatoes and mediocre wine, no better than any citizen might have. In truth, he did have one weakness, and that was cream soda. Although it was an extremely uncommon beverage in Aperturia, he once visited Arachnia, where the drink was common, and fell in love with it. Despite the fact that Technobrine had never asked that a cream soda brewery be founded, or even mentioned one, there were multiple spread out across the land, each competing to create the best cream soda, so that they may have the honor of their craft meeting the Prince's lips. And speaking of Technobrine's lips... but Annabel quickly frowned and crushed this thought. Being of no royal blood, she and Technobrine could never be even aquaintances, and Annabel knew this perfectly well. As Annabel was returning with Technobrine's food, she heard voices coming from the throne room, and waited outside without looking in. She could not help but over hear some of the conversation within. "This isn't possible." "I'm sorry, your Highness, we did all we could. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't stop the terrorist. Not even the nuerotoxin affected him." "And the turrets?" "We managed to trap him in a room full of them, your Highness. We couldn't see in, but we heard no gunfire, and later he took control of the facility. We don't know what happened with the turrets." "What's happened with the scientists?" "We're not sure, your highness. We don't know what he wants. He may be holding them hostage, or they may be..." "Enough. I'll send... someone. You are dismissed." Annabel observed the man who hurried out of the throne room in great detail. He was thin and wiry, and his only visible implant was on his right eye. He appeared very distressed, as if someone was slowly filling up the room he was in with water, and there was nothing he could do about it. After the man rushed out of the throne room and past Annabel, she entered, bearing Technobrine's breakfast. "Annabel," he spoke. "Great danger has fallen upon Aperturia. I fear that I may not be able to handle it alone." "I have the utmost faith in you, your Highness," Annabel responded. "As the rest of Aperturia does." "And I have faith," replied Technobrine, "That you will make an excellent advisor." Annabel looked slightly shocked, and then regained her composure. "Well, Annabel," began Technobrine. "A terrorist has broken into Aperture Science and is now holding both the facility and the scientists hostage. Advise me." "How have bullets affected the terrorist?" asked Annabel, pretending she didn't already know. "Minimally." "And nuerotoxin?" "Nothing." "Well, my Lordship, it would appear that you have but one option... to send me." Doubtful though he was, Technobrine understood that he had to have faith in his advisor, which is why he actually took Annabel's proposition seriously. "Annabel, please do explain." "My Lordship, I ask that you do not ridicule me when I tell you why I believe I should go to Aperture." "I give you my word." "I possess a strange ability. Since birth, I have been able to operate machinery without consulting any sort of control panel or using a cybernetic implant. I merely wish the machine to do what I want it to, and it does. I am technokinetic." "Ah, I now see the reasoning behind your advice," "Yes, my Lord," "And I could not disagree more." "Pardon, your Highness?" "Annabel, as your king, it is my duty to protect the citizens of Aperturia. I could not think of a more dangerous situation for you to be in." "My Lord, I fear that I must argue. With my technokinetic powers, I can control machinery. I believe I may even be able to gain some degree of control over the terrorist's implants. Besides, I fear that there may be no other way to stop him." Technobrine paused for a long, hard, minute. In other words, an eternity. "Very well," he answered eventually. "But on one condition." "Yes, my Lord?" "I am to accompany you. Now, I suggest you return to your quarters. In the morning we leave for the Enrichment Center." Annabel was shocked. She had never seen her king rule so fiercely. She could not be more attracted. Chapter 2[[Category:Fanfictions]][[Category:Fanfictions by ThatPortalGuy]][[Category:Unfinished Fanfictions]] As Annabel and Technobrine rode towards the Enrichment Center, (anything motorized would likely alert the terrorist to their presence), far beyond Aperture Vale's outskirts, they silently admired the cold, morning sunrise. It was truly a beautiful thing, and such pure, untouched moments of nature were rarely seen. They rode like this for a few hours, until Technobrine spoke up. "We shall have to leave our horses here. We don't know how advanced the terrorist's sensors are, and at any rate it's better than leaving them in front of the Enrichment Center. We proceed on foot." "Yes, my Lordship." came the inevitable reply. "Annabel," Technobrine started as he dismounted his horse. "Have you ever, in your life, showed disagreement towards anyone?" "Well, "replied Annabel, doing the same. "There was yesterday-" "Before that." The pair had now begun walking towards the Enrichment Center. "...No, my Lord, I can't say I have." "Annabel, we are beyond the strict rules of society. Here, you may call me Technobrine." he informed, offering a faint smile to Annabel. "Yes, my Lo- Technobrine." Annabel gave a small laugh in return. "At any rate," Technobrine returned to a more formal manner. "We have reached the Enrichment Center." And indeed they had. It was a small, two-story building, with some small office windows dotting the second floor. The rest of it, thought Annabel, must be underground. "Obviously, we can't just walk in through the front door. Follow me, I believe there is a small service elevator this way, in a field of wheat." They reached the service elevator without incident, and opened the intricately-unlocked metal door without incident. "Well, Annabel," prompted Technobrine. "Are you ready?" "For what?" Annabel asked, tenatively. "I don't know." They stepped into the elevator together, and shut the door. Hurtling down into the belly of the beast at 400 kilometers an hour in the dark is not exactly comfortable. Regardless, it was the only way to get into the Enrichment Center undetected. The elevator Annabel and Technobrine were riding in slowed to a halt in front of a small turret repair room. The broken turrets staring at the duo and murmuring, "I see you", albeit harmless, was rather unnerving. They ascended a small set of stairs at the other side of the room to a platform overlooking the room, and went through the door there. The pair made their way across a series of catwalks until they reached a dead end. As luck would have it, there happened to be a broken panel leading into an abandoned test chamber. Without any other path, Technobrine and Annabel climbed into the dark, unlit [http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=376869947 test chamber]. Normally the test chamber would sense a test subject and turn itself on, but since both Technobrine and Annabel had implants, they were not eligible, and the chamber remained silent. Luckily for the two, this was the first test in the track, and as such there was a portal gun on a podium, ready to be taken so that the test could be solved. "What is that?" asked Annabel, pointing to the portal gun. "Some sort of... gun," Technobrine answered. I'm not sure, I never really kept up with the Enrichment Centers experiments, to tell you the truth. Here, I'll shoot at a wall, we'll see what it does." Technobrine picked up the gun, and noted that it fit quite snugly on his arm. It was also surprisingly light, weighing half a kilogram if that. He fired it at a wall, and was shocked to see, in lieu of a bullet hole, a large blue oval appear where he fired! The oval was swirling, but touching felt simply like the test chamber wall. It was then that Technobrine noticed the second trigger withing the gun. Using his thumb, he fired the secondary projectile next to where he fired the primary one, and found that after the orange flash of light had hit the wall, the blue oval became a reflection of the test chamber! An orange oval had appeared where Technobrine had fired the secondary projectile, and it showed the same reflection as the blue one. Tentatively, Technobrine slowly reached out to touch the orange oval... and fell through! Yes, Technobrine entered the orange oval and exited the blue one! Finally, Technobrine realized what he had... a portal gun! "Annabel, I know what this is!" "What is it, Technobrine?" "This,"Er announced triumphantly, "is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, or Portal Gun. I remember briefly reading about it in one of the Enrichment Center's progress reports a few months ago, but I didn't pay much attention. If you recall, it was around the time that Black Mesa detonated." Annabel nodded, remembering the terrible accident. "Anyway, what this thing does is exactly what we just saw. Whatever goes in one portal, comes out the other. It's quite a remarkable product. It's one weakness is that it can only shoot portals on white surfaces and the moon. Strange, I know. But what's so great about having it now is that this opens up a lot of new paths, in case we have trouble getting to the terrorist." "Where do you think he is?" "Well, if I had to guess," Technobrine frowned. "I'd say he's probably holed up in the Central AI Chamber. It's where the entire facility is controlled from, and where the Enrichment Center's experimental AI is being built." Erimos looked back towards the exit of the test chamber. "But that's enough talking. Let's get going." Chapter 3[[Category:Love Fanfictions]][[Category:Unfinished Fanfictions]][[Category:Fanfictions by ThatPortalGuy]][[Category:Fanfictions]] =